Aim of the present work is to offer an understanding of the mechanisms informing the making and reproduction of the Hittite Empire (17th-13th BCE) in its diachronic evolution. The analysis focuses on South-Central Anatolia, an area of intense core-periphery interactions within the scope of the Hittite domain and, therefore, of great informative potential about the manifold trajectories of imperial action. Through the combinatory investigation of archaeological and textual data able to account for long-to short-term variables of social change, I will show that South-Central Anatolia evolved from being a loose agglomerate of city-hinterland nuclei into a provincial system. The region thus acquired a pivotal role in the balance of power thanks to its centrality in the communication network, and it became the stage for eventful political revolutions, as well as a new core for Hittite political dynamics. The picture of Hittite imperialism emerging, thus, is that of a set of multi-causal and multi-directional processes, not predicated on the sole centrifugal hegemonic expansion of the empire.

Bookmark
Download

Settlement patterns, ancient routes and environmental change in South Cappadocia (Turkey), during the Holocene

As a part of the Central Anatolian Plateau, South Cappadocia corresponds to today's province of Niğde. In this paper we will discuss the diachronic evolution of settlement pattern and the route network of this region, and their relation with major events of environmental and climatic change during the Holocene. We will argue that while human response to climate and environmental change is the reason for some major change in human geography, there are climate change events not reflected in settlement pattern and long-distance routes crossing the region, and major changes in human geography independent from environmental and climate change. A case-by-case analysis is therefore suggested as the correct approach to formulate a correct understanding of the human-landscape relation through time.

Bookmark
Download
- by Alvise Matessi and +2
  Emre Dalkılıç
  lorenzo d'alfonso
- •
- 5
  Settlement Patterns, Environmental Change, Ancient Anatolia, Connectivity

East of Konya: Settlements, routes and environment in southern Cappadocia, and the political landscape of South Central Anatolia during the Second Millennium BCE

Because of their shared landscape and climate, southern Cappadocia is often perceived and represented as the easternmost portion of the Konya plain in South Central Anatolia (hereafter: SCA). Here we will argue that, while many interconnections did indeed exist between these two regions, the Bor-Ereğli plain with its surrounding mountains shows proper, independent historical developments in many phases of its past, particularly in pre-classical times. This picture has emerged from ten years of research that our team has been conducting in the Bor plain2. In this article, devoted to the Late Bronze Age (LBA), we will present: 1) the main features of the climate and geology of this region and their fluctuations during the Bronze and Iron Ages (ca 3000-500 BCE); 2) the change in settlement pattern and land route networks in the 2nd millennium BCE; 3) the contribution of written sources of the 2nd millennium BCE to the geography of our region, particularly the account of the battle of Tuwanuwa; and 4) the contribution of some novel data from the ongoing excavations at Kınık Höyük that, preliminary though they are, suggest a different understanding of the periodization of our region than previously thought.

Bookmark

63.0 million researchers use this site every month. Ads help cover our server costs.

Storia del Vicino Oriente Antico

Log In